


The Winds of Change

by MiniBandit



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniBandit/pseuds/MiniBandit
Summary: It's just another crappy day at work, with crappy bosses, and crappy malfunctioning vending machines. That is, until Catra meets a woman from the office upstairs. Maybe, just maybe, things are starting to change.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 168





	1. I hate Mondays

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've written and the first bit of fiction I've written in quite some time. There is one mild curse in the first chapter, but future chapters may be more colorful, just a heads up. I hope you enjoy it!

_Ugh, this is not going well._

Catra shifted uncomfortably as Kyle stumbled through his slides in their presentation. Catra, Rogelio, and Lonnie had all gotten through their portions of the proposal for the new line of EKS robots; all Kyle had to do was make it through three-slides worth of testing updates. Catra'd even gone through the presentation the night before, adding in talking points for him so he could literally read off the screen. But no matter how much she prepared, Kyle was still Kyle. 

As project lead, his inability to perform reflected poorly on Catra and it would have been bad enough had her team only been presenting to Shadow Weaver, their managing director. But just minutes before they entered the conference room, Shadow Weaver had cornered Catra to inform her that Hordak, the Vice President of Horde Industries and the head of the company’s Etheria location, was sitting in on the proposal. _This Monday couldn’t get any worse,_ Catra thought, twitching her ear in annoyance at the headache she could feel beginning to form _._ Was it stress or did she just tie her long and impossibly thick hair back too tightly this morning? Catra swiped to the next slide on her tablet as Kyle stuttered through his final talking point. She could still save this proposal yet--it was a good product after all. Even Catra could recognize the promise in Entrapta’s latest design.

“As you can see, the EKS has the potential to be the hottest ‘bot on the market,” Catra said. “While it could easily be geared toward military use, it could also be tweaked and sold for home and private security purposes due to its superior artificial intelligence. Entrapta’s use of the First Ones' tech puts us lightyears ahead of our competitors--”

Shadow Weaver didn’t give her a chance to finish her final pitch. She never wasted an opportunity to belittle Catra in front of superiors.

“Catra, when will you stop pitching this First Ones’ nonsense?,” she asked, turning to Hordak. “Sir, I apologize for wasting your time on these robots.” Catra’s claws dug into the tablet so hard, her thumbs cracked the delicate screen. She could sense the dejected looks passing between Rogelio and Kyle, the angry shame rising off of Lonnie. Shadow Weaver turned back to the team.

“Catra, I don’t know why I expected anything more from you. This is just yet another disappointment--”

Catra dropped the tablet and slammed her hands down onto the conference table.

“This isn’t a waste of time! The EKS could put the Etheria branch of Horde Industries back on the map. With these robots, we could change the security and defense industries, not just here but throughout the empire!”

_Shit. That came off way angrier than it should have._

Catra could see Shadow Weaver seething, but beside her, Hordak seemed intrigued. Before Shadow Weaver could begin the verbal assault Catra knew was coming, Hordak rose to his feet.

“Catra, do you have a functioning prototype?” Hordak asked, walking toward the door.

Her ears lowered, surprised by the normally quiet VP’s question. 

“Um, yes. Entrapta has a few in the Design Lab on sublevel two.”

“I’d like to go see it. Shadow Weaver, let’s go. This could be just what we need. Catra, send me a copy of your presentation. It’ll need some changes, but Horde Prime may be interested.”

As the pair left the room and headed to the elevator bank down the hall, Catra’s team let out a collective sigh of relief.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Lonnie said, grinning at Catra.

“I can’t believe you yelled at Shadow Weaver,” Kyle added.

“Yeah, me neither,” Catra admitted, rolling the sleeves of her maroon blouse up over her sinewy forearms. But she paled slightly at the realization that whatever the outcome of the proposal, she would be facing some form of discipline from her boss. She exhaled loudly. “I’m going to take my lunch break.”

Catra exited the conference room and walked toward the stairwell, passing the rows of gray cubicles where she spent her days. She gave a half-hearted wave to her cubicle mate Scorpia, who shot her a huge grin and probably would have bounded after her, had Scorpia not been on the phone. Scorpia was one of the only things that made this corporate nightmare worth it. 

She shouldered open the heavy door, ignoring the “FIRE EXIT ONLY - ALARM WILL SOUND” sign on it and headed up the two flights of stairs that led to a row of vending machines. Catra always wondered why the building owners put vending machines on the landing if they didn’t want people using the stairs. Granted, the coffee was terrible, but Shadow Weaver refused to let them have a coffee station in the office. She claimed it would encourage them to take too many breaks. Still, the stairwell vending machines made for a relatively secluded spot for Catra to take her allotted lunch break and decompress during the work day. 

She fished a few coins from the pocket of her gray slacks and inserted them into the coffee vending machine, selecting a simple can of iced coffee. Her ear twitched slightly at the sound of another door opening and closing elsewhere in the stairwell, but she would have her drink and be gone before anyone got to the machine. The vending machine whirred for a moment, retrieving the can before beginning to beep unpleasantly. The can was stuck.

“Oh, come on!” Catra smacked her hand against the side of the machine. Nothing happened. The beeping continued. She crouched in front of the machine, opening the plastic door to see if the can was close enough for her to grab. No such luck. She stood and stepped back from the machine, before kicking it in frustration. Catra let out a yelp of pain. Flats were no match for a half-ton steel machine.

“Maybe you should try punching it,” came an earnest voice behind her. “That always works for me.”

Catra’s tail bristled as she spun around to see a striking blonde in a red windbreaker and jeans. She didn’t recognize the woman and she definitely wasn’t dressed to Horde’s strict business attire standards, so at least it wasn’t a coworker who saw Catra hitting the vending machine. 

“It, uh, won’t give me my iced coffee,” Catra said flatly, consciously trying to lower her hackles. “But it’s whatever. I was just leaving.” She turned to walk back down the stairs, annoyed at her solitary respite being interrupted. 

“Well we have coffee in my office if you need some,” the blonde offered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s just a few flights up if you don’t mind the walk.” Her blue eyes fixed on Catra’s heterochromatic ones and Catra couldn’t hide from them, despite the dim lighting in the stairwell. 

“No, no, that--that--that’s okay,” Catra stammered and waved her hands in front of her. 

“Oh, come on,” the woman said, grabbing Catra’s forearm and practically dragging her up the stairs. “You wanted coffee, right?”

For some reason unknown to her, Catra--headstrong and independent Catra--followed. Something about this woman just drew her in. After they reached the top of the flight, the blonde turned her head to Catra, smiling.

“I’m Adora, by the way!”

“Catra.” 

They rounded the landing and Catra felt her face flush. Adora was still holding onto her wrist and Catra could see a series of scrapes across Adora’s knuckles. _I guess she does punch a lot of things after all,_ Catra thought. 

“Where do you work? I haven’t seen you before! Well, I haven’t seen most people before, because we’re new to this building. I’ve never worked in a highrise before. It’s so weird being all on top of each other like this but also totally separate. But it’s a really nice office! It’s technically my friend’s mom’s company, but it’s super chill,” Adora continued, taking the stairs two at a time. Catra couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, just quickly following this strangely chatty woman. 

Suddenly, Adora opened another heavy fire door and they entered a large, brightly lit room. Huge windows filled the room with natural light and instead of carefully partitioned cubicles, Catra saw couches and communal tables. A girl with pink hair sat on a stool in front of a bar chatting to a man wearing an apron with his dark hair in a frizzy bun, while others played ping pong in the corner. There was no way this was an office.

“Are you sure this is the right floor Adora?” Catra asked. Adora nodded and flashed a goofy grin. 

“Welcome to Brightmoon! We’re a start-up,” she said with a small chuckle, letting go of Catra’s arm. But she immediately placed her hand against Catra’s lower back and guided her toward the woman on the stool. As it turned out, there was a full on coffee bar set up, where the tall, friendly-looking man was drawing designs into lattes. Adora pulled two stools out for herself and Catra, sliding into the one closest to the pink-haired woman easily. Catra sat down on the other uneasily, still taking in the scene.

“Hey guys, this is Catra! She works in the building,” Adora said to the woman sitting at the bar with them. “Catra, these are my friends Glimmer and Bow! We all work together. Bow, can you make her a drink?”

“Hey Catra, what can I get you?” the man asked with a warm smile.

“Oh, I’ll take whatever is easiest,” Catra said, not wanting to impose. Adora threw an arm around Catra’s shoulders as though they’d known each other for longer than a few minutes. Catra tried not to flinch at the familiarity of the move. Her face was so close to Adora she swore she got a whiff of Irish Spring soap.

“Do you want iced coffee? We have that. I know that’s what you were trying to get when you broke the machine,” Adora said. _Jeez, how long had she been standing there for?_

“I didn’t break the machine!” Catra hissed, pulling away abruptly, before realizing Adora wasn’t trying to be rude. “Sorry. I just, yeah, iced coffee would be great.” 

Catra’s cheeks burned with shame at her outburst but Adora seemed not to care. Bow turned to pull a pitcher of cold brew from the mini-fridge while Glimmer leaned around Adora to talk to Catra.

“So where do you work?”

“Horde Industries, down on the sixth floor.”

“You mean that weapon company?” Catra could hear the accusation in Glimmer’s voice. Bow’s back was to her, but she could see he froze mid-pour. It wasn’t until coffee started spilling over the edges of the cup that he set the pitcher down and grabbed a towel to clean it up. Next to her, Adora bit her lower lip and her dark eyebrows knit together tightly.

“We’re defense contractors and we do more than just make weapons. We keep Etheria safe,” Catra snarled, spitting out the company’s party line. Admittedly, she knew Horde’s reputation was less than stellar and their products had been used in more offensive situations than defensive ones. But hey, she wasn’t responsible for what happened once her machines went to market. And in theory, their machines did keep people safe from bad actors and rogue states. She shrugged, feigning indifference. “Plus, it’s just a job.”

“Just a job? Just a _job?”_ Catra could see the anger rising in Glimmer’s face.

“Glimmer, I don’t think Catra meant it that way,” Adora countered, trying to keep the peace. Catra folded her arms across her chest.

“No, I meant it that way. It keeps a roof over my head and food on my table. What do you care anyways?” Catra scowled. 

“Adora, I think it’s time for your new friend to leave,” Glimmer said through gritted teeth. Bow reached across the bar and placed his hand on Glimmer’s. 

“Glimmer, I think you need to calm down. Catra’s just--”

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Bow!” Glimmer shouted, rising from her stool. Bow moved to follow her to the couches on the far side of the room. 

“Sorry,” he mouthed over his shoulder. 

“What’s her deal?” Catra asked Adora. But Adora just shook her head and hopped off her bar stool. She stepped behind the bar to grab the coffee Bow had poured, dropping a few ice cubes in it and adding a dash of cream, before pouring the whole thing into a plastic to-go cup. 

“I’ll walk you out,” she said, snapping a lid onto the cup. 

Once they were back in the stairwell, Catra folded her arms.

“You gonna explain what just happened?”

Adora frowned.

“Well, you know how I said it’s my friend’s mom’s company? It’s Glimmer’s mom. And her dad was killed in a skirmish in the Whispering Woods when she was just a kid, by robots Horde Industries made." Adora shrugged. "She probably feels you’re partly responsible.”

“That’s crazy! One, I didn’t even work there then. And two, our products don’t kill people, people kill people.”

“Yeah, but you’re still contributing to that stuff. Horde machines are being used all over the galaxy for war.” 

“We do good things too, you know,” Catra shot back. Adora cocked an eyebrow. Catra looked at her feet sheepishly. “I mean, we could. Our products _could_ be used to do good things. They can be used for home security.” 

Catra felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder and raised her eyes to meet Adora’s. The other woman leveled her with a sympathetic look. Catra’s ears flattened and she looked away again.

“Whatever, we have a corporate philanthropy program or something. We donate a lot of money to charity.”

“It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, Catra,” Adora said gently, removing her hand from Catra’s shoulder to tip Catra’s chin toward her, forcing the brunette to look into Adora’s piercing blue eyes. “Anyhow, here’s your coffee.” Catra took the plastic cup between her two hands and stared at it for a moment, trying to think of anything that could get them off the current topic but keep them talking.

“Wait, if you have that nice set up in your office, why were you going to the vending machines?” 

“Oh!” It was Adora’s turn to flush. She rubbed a hand on the nape of her neck. “I grew up drinking really crappy instant coffee, so Bow’s fancy drinks are a little much for me.”

Catra cracked a smile. She liked how honest and open Adora was. It was a refreshing change of pace after spending all her time in the rat race that was Horde. Not that she wasn’t above clawing her way to the top if given the chance. But this girl, she was different. 

“I should probably get back to work,” Adora sighed. “It was nice meeting you, Catra.” She turned back to the door leading to Brightmoon. 

“Hey, Adora,” Catra called softly. Adora glanced back over her shoulder. “Thanks for the coffee. Maybe I’ll see you around the vending machine again.”

Adora’s face lit up at the thought. She broke into that broad, stupid grin Catra was starting to like. Catra turned to walk down the stairs back to her office, tail twitching gently behind her. 

Catra slipped into her cubicle and tapped her space bar to wake up the monitor. She stared absentmindedly at the login screen, the cool cup sweating condensation into the palm of her fingerless gloves. She reached out one hand to gently run her claws against a small, novelty scratch post Scorpia had gotten her as a birthday present. In her peripheral vision, she saw a shock of white hair pop up over the adjoining wall. 

“What took you so long?” said Scorpia. She spied the coffee cup. “Where’d you get that?”

Catra glanced up at her friend. 

“Scorpia, I think,” she paused, weighing the words in her mouth. “I think I met someone.”


	2. That’s How You Get Ants!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the threat of Shadow Weaver looming over her, Catra returns to the office prepared for the worst. But someone brought muffins to the meeting, so it can’t all be bad, right? Plus, it seems Hordak has plans for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, these chapter titles will just be puns and pop culture references.

Catra managed to drag herself through the remainder of the work day, giving Scorpia a play-by-play of the day’s events, and sending the requested documents to Hordak before leaving for the day. Thankfully, Shadow Weaver had taken the vice president to lunch and had stayed out of the office for the remainder of the day, although in the back of Catra’s mind, she knew the backlash was still looming. The anxiety of facing Shadow Weaver the next day led to a fitful night of sleep and practically pushed the cute girl from upstairs right out of her mind.

The next morning, as she walked past Shadow Weaver’s large office, Catra was surprised to see the director’s desk cleared of its usual clutter. Normally, Shadow Weaver was the first one in the office and Catra could count on one hand the number of days off the director had taken in the two and a half years Catra had been with the company. She filed the observation away in the back of her mind as she padded down the hall to her own cubicle. Over the dividing wall, she saw the tip of Scorpia’s tail swaying a little and Catra leaned over to swat it gently. 

Scorpia glanced up and pulled her headphones out of her ears.

“Good morning, Wildcat!” 

“Hey Scorpia. Have you seen Shadow Weaver around? After yesterday, I’m sure she’s going to tear me a new one.” Scorpia shook her head. 

“I haven’t yet. But Hordak sent an all-staff email this morning, did you read it?” 

“No, what’d it say?” Catra asked, fishing her cell out of her pocket to check her inbox.

“He wants everyone in the conference room at 9. Speaking of which, we should head over there before all the seats are taken.”

Catra nodded and grabbed a notepad and pen off her desk, following her friend toward the meeting. They managed to snag the last two seats, much to Lonnie and Rogelio’s annoyance. Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind as he leaned back his usual spot against the wall. Catra scanned the room. Across the table, Entrapta sat next to Octavia, snacking on a tray of miniature blueberry muffins. Catra elbowed Scorpia and nodded toward the pastry tray. 

“Who brought those? Shadow Weaver’s going to kill them for spilling crumbs in the office,” Catra smirked.

“ _Do you want ants? Because that’s how you get ants!”_ mimicked Scorpia with a laugh. Still, Catra was unsettled. Neither Hordak nor Shadow Weaver were anywhere to be seen and the meeting would be starting soon. Her colleagues continued to chatter idly, glancing at their watches and cell phones periodically as the minutes ticked by. 

After ten minutes passed, Hordak walked in and a hush fell over the room.

“Good morning team, I apologize for being late. Being a single father has its ups and downs,” he said with a wry smile. “I have a few updates for you before we dive into the day. First and foremost, for the foreseeable future, I will be here overseeing the Etheria branch of Horde Industries. For the time being, I will be working out of Shadow Weaver’s office. Which leads me to my second point: Shadow Weaver has been temporarily re-assigned to the Human Resources department back at headquarters. I do expect to eventually fill her position, but for now, Project Leads will report directly to me. Thirdly, with the exception of Scorpia and Catra, everyone will turn their focus on Entrapta’s EKS project. Horde Industries has high hopes for the EKS line and we don’t want to lose any time on production. We have a month until the Thaymor Expo and President Prime wants to showcase at least two models of the EKS, one for government use and another for commercial and private use. I’m going to need everyone working at full throttle to make that happen.” He was met with a moment of stunned silence. Hordak clapped his hands together. “I’ll be available all day should you have any immediate questions. Now everyone, please enjoy the light refreshments provided and then head back to work.” 

As though a spell was broken, employees started to rise and congratulate Entrapta for her design being picked up for production. Catra bristled, jealous she wasn’t given any credit. She had spent hours analyzing Entrapta’s ramblings about the robots to understand the potential uses, she had done the consumer research, she had drawn up the proposal, and she had pitched it. Well, she and her team anyhow. And now Hordak wasn’t even going to let her see it to completion? Her jaw clenched, she pushed her chair away from the conference table and stalked toward the door. Just then, she heard Hordak say her name.

“Catra, let’s chat.”

She followed the vice president to Shadow Weaver’s--no, Hordak’s office, and sank into one of the utilitarian chairs in the spartan office. Out of the corner of her eye, Catra saw a small blue-skinned figure curled up in another chair, playing some sort of hand-held video game system. Hordak followed her eyes and gestured to the figure. 

“This is my son, Imperio. He goes by Imp,” Hordak said, ruffling his son’s hair. Imp scowled up at his father before focusing his attention back on his game. Hordak sat behind the desk and leaned forward, folding his hands under his chin. “Catra, I’ve read through your employee file. You interned here for a summer in the R&D department, had a stellar recommendation from your immediate supervisor, and then joined the company after graduation in the same department. After just a year and a half, you were promoted to a project lead. You’ve written a number of interesting project proposals in the year since then, but all of them were rejected by Shadow Weaver. Why is that?” 

Catra stared at the thick file sitting on Hordak’s desk. He’d pulled a number of her presentations out and she recalled all the time her team had spent on potentially groundbreaking projects that Shadow Weaver refused to entertain. Was he going to belittle her now, just like Shadow Weaver did so often in this same office? Bring it on.

“I’m not sure, sir,” she said, swallowing the snarl rising in her throat. She kept her hands on her lap, claws digging into the tops of her thighs.

Hordak leaned back in his chair, swiveling it slightly.

“I’m not sure myself,” he admitted. “I read your proposals cover to cover and while not all of them are fitting for Horde Industries, they aren’t bad ideas. You and that engineer Entrapta both show promise. This EKS line could be the next big thing.” 

Was he praising her? Catra reeled momentarily, but composed herself. She couldn’t get her hopes up just yet. 

“This one,” Hordak said, pulling a dog-eared packet from the file and flipping through the pages. “This was one fascinating. Using the Black Garnet as a renewable energy source for the public, rather than just for the company. I don’t think the board would be open to that idea initially, but it would diversify revenue streams and give us an opportunity to improve our public image, which may boost shareholder’s confidence. Not that the defense industry is going anywhere, what with all the warmongering these isolationists are doing throughout the galaxy,” Hordak chuckled darkly. Catra felt a small twinge in her chest, thinking about how angry Glimmer looked the day before. She shook it off. Horde Industries wasn’t responsible for how people use their products and neither was she.

“While I’m having everyone else focus on the EKS line, I’d like you, Scorpia, and Entrapta to pursue this energy option. The rest of the engineers can work with the others to build upon Entrapta’s ideas but I need the three of you to help me find the breakthrough. Here,” Hordak handed her the proposal. “I made some notes and suggestions. I expect a progress report on my desk in two weeks. You don’t need to have it figured out, but show me the possibilities. I’ll have Facilities set up a joint office for your new team.” 

Catra stood and flashed a grin at her superior. 

“You won’t regret this sir!”

“I hope not. And this should go without saying, but keep this under wraps for the time being.”

Walking on Cloud 9, Catra hurried out of Hordak’s office directly to Scorpia’s desk. Any excitement she shoved down during her meeting with Hordak came flooding out with her friend.

“We’ve got a new assignment, Big Gal! It’s just going to be you, me, and Entrapta working on it. If we can get this through, there might be some real implications, a real impact! Not just on the company, but bigger than that! Hordak even said we get our own office. A real office!” 

Scorpia hadn’t seen Catra this openly and genuinely excited for something in a long time, not even about the blonde upstairs. She leaned over and wrapped her friend in a tight embrace, lifting the shorter woman off the floor. 

“Come on Scorpia, put me down!” Catra laughed, feigning to struggle against Scorpia’s tight grip. Not that there was any way she could break out of it, even if she wanted to.

“Sorry, you know I’m a hugger. I’m just so happy we finally get to work together! What’s the assignment?” Scorpia asked, setting Catra down. 

“I’ll fill you in when we get our new space; Hordak wants to keep it on the down low for now,” Catra responded, lowering her voice and checking to see who might be eavesdropping around them. Scorpia seemed unfazed.

“Whatever it is, this is going to be great. We can decorate our office and coordinate our outfits and ooh, maybe we can even take turns bringing in breakfast!” 

“Why don’t we start with the decorating and see how it goes,” Catra laughed. She started to daydream a bit as she imagined their new set-up. “Whatever space we get has to be big enough for all three of us, which means we’re getting a giant office. Maybe it’s a corner office. Maybe it has windows! Natural light! We could get some plants!”

Scorpia cocked her head. 

“But Catra, there aren’t any offices with windows on our floor.”

Catra paused.

“Shit, you’re right. Well, it was a nice dream while it lasted,” she said wistfully. Her tail twitched in slight annoyance. _Even on the good days, it’s still a cold, corporate hellscape,_ she thought _._ “I’m headed to the vending machines, do you want anything?”

Scorpia shook her head. 

“Nah, I’m good. I packed my lunch today. But thanks, _partner_ ,” Scorpia responded with a wink. 

Catra cracked a smile. Corporate hellscape aside, at least she had Scorpia.


	3. Tuesday Afternoon, I Ain't Got Shit to Do But Fall in Love With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Adora find an excuse to spend some quality time together outside the office. Catra tries vulnerability on for size, Adora makes a mess, and the building managers don't miraculously fix things overnight. The slowest of slow burns continues.

As Catra climbed the stairs to the vending machines, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing in the stairwell, her mind shifted to the prior day’s events. Her gaze softened when she thought of Adora’s bright eyes and easy smile. Catra shook her head slightly as though to clear the image from her mind. What were the odds that in an 8-hour workday, the two would cross paths?

Apparently, the odds were rather high. As she rounded the final staircase, she saw the blonde ponytail and the broad shoulders of Adora come into view. Adora had her back to Catra with her hands on her hips, studying the vending machine rather intently. The same red windbreaker from the day before was tied around her waist, revealing a simple white v-neck tee-shirt and light wash skinny jeans. While Catra certainly didn’t hate the view, she figured she should announce herself.

“Hey Adora,” Catra purred. Maybe this was her lucky day after all. Adora turned her head and beamed. 

“Catra!” The smile faltered though as Adora turned, pointing at the machine. “It’s still broken.” Catra frowned.

“Seriously? What do these building managers even do all day?” she asked, throwing up her hands and stalking toward the machine in question. Catra, claws extended, reached out her hand to give the vending machine a good thump. Adora caught her wrist and grinned.

“That didn’t work out so well for you last time, remember?” 

“Yeah well, you said you normally punch things when they break, remember?” Catra taunted back.

A flustered look came over Adora’s face. She dropped Catra’s arm sheepishly and suddenly Catra was hyper aware of the exact spot where Adora’s hand had been. 

“I’m trying to work on that,” Adora murmured. She looked up, locking eyes with Catra. “I’m trying to be less impulsive. Think before I act and whatnot.” There was that earnest look again. A soft smile played across Catra’s lips. 

“It’s okay, Adora. I’m kind of impulsive too,” she admitted. “I, uh, may have yelled at my boss in a presentation yesterday.” 

Adora’s eyes widened. “Really?” 

“Yeah, it was not the best decision I’ve ever made, but she got re-assigned to another division so I’m safe for now.” Catra looked at the machine again and placed a hand on her hip. “But on second thought, I don’t think punching that machine is going to fix it after all. Why don’t we try to find a street vendor with crappy coffee?”

“In this city, that shouldn’t be too hard!”

They headed down the stairs, chatting casually about their days. Adora had spent the morning with Bow attempting to build a contraption that would launch plastic bottles into a recycling receptacle. Catra shook her head, scoffing.  _ How on Etheria do they get paid for this stuff? _ She would never understand. Adora claimed it had some larger point to get people to recycle, but Catra was pretty sure they were just goofing off. It didn’t take long to reach the ground floor and a few yards away from the emergency exit sat a line of food carts. Catra skipped over the fancier trucks boasting over-priced fusion foods and headed straight to a small cart with a familiar blue and yellow umbrella. Adora trailed along behind her.

“Uh Catra, I thought we were getting coffee, not lunch,” Adora paused, eyeing the hot dog signs plastering the cart. “Although, I could eat.”

“Just trust me,” Catra said. She turned to the vendor. “Hey Sal, can I get two coffees and two dogs?” 

“Black?” Sal asked. Catra glanced at Adora, who shook her head. 

“Sugar and cream please,” Adora called. 

“One sugar and cream, one black, Sal. Mustard and ketchup on the dogs.” She handed him a $10 bill. He returned a few bills, which she dropped in the small tip cup. 

Adora reached into her pocket for her wallet, but Catra waved her off. 

“My treat,” Catra smiled. “You get the next one.”

A few minutes later, with food and drinks in hand, Catra and Adora scouted for a place to sit. It was a windy October afternoon and few people were choosing to eat outdoors. They found an open spot on a bench across the street from their building. Catra shivered after a strong gust and immediately, Adora put down her food and untied her windbreaker, holding it out for the brunette.

“Oh, no, I’m okay!” But Adora insisted. Catra pulled the jacket over her head. “Thanks, you really didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” Adora said, picking up her hot dog. She took a bite, immediately getting a drop of mustard on her white t-shirt. 

“Damn it,” Adora hissed. Catra chuckled and took a sip of her coffee as Adora furiously scrubbed the stain with a napkin. “I swear I don’t do this every time. Only…” she trailed off.

“Only what, Adora?” Catra asked playfully.

Adora blushed and looked at her feet. “Only when I’m trying to make a good impression.” 

She liked seeing Adora uneasy like this. It was endearing and Catra decided to lean into it.

“Can I just say, I appreciate how genuine and open you are? It’s really cute,” Catra purred, tucking a strand of hair the wind had pulled from her ponytail behind Adora’s ear. Adora’s face reddened deeper, but she looked up and caught Catra’s eye. 

“Someone once told me vulnerability is a strength, so I try to wear my heart on my sleeve,” she said.  _ There you go again,  _ Catra thought. 

They ate quickly and in relative silence, neither of them realizing quite how hungry they had been. When she finished, Adora took the paper wrapper Sal had placed around her hotdog in one hand and crumpled it up, holding out the other for Catra’s wrapper. Catra placed it into Adora’s open hand and let her hand linger a moment before letting go. Adora smiled warmly, crushing it and getting up to throw them in a nearby trash can. She sat back down, taking a long sip of her now luke-warm coffee. 

“So outside of creating trash catapults and eating hotdogs with strangers, what do you get up to?” Catra asked. Adora’s eyes lit up.

“Well I mostly spend my time hanging out with my friends, but I’m really into fitness. I got into mixed martial arts a few years ago and train a few days a week in the gym near my apartment.”  _ So that was how she stayed in shape, _ Catra thought, eyeing Adora’s arms. Her biceps weren’t very bulky, but the muscle definition of her biceps and triceps were certainly noticeable. Adora flexed slightly, and Catra knew she’d been caught staring. Adora smirked and continued talking. 

“But yeah, mostly I chill with Glimmer and Bow. Bow and I are roommates, but Bow and Glimmer are dating, so Glimmer’s at our place all the time, which is really nice because we were roommates in college.”

“Oh, where’d you go to school?” It didn’t take much for Catra to be ready to stop talking about Glimmer, who clearly was not Catra’s biggest fan.

“Mystacor College, have you heard of it? It’s a pretty small liberal arts school so I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t. I thought about being an Art major initially but uh, heh, that didn’t seem like it would have much job security. So I went with History, but in hindsight, that didn’t either. Where’d you go?” 

“Dryl Institute of Technology,” Catra said. “I started there thinking I wanted to be an engineer, but it just wasn’t for me.” 

“You didn’t like the major?” Adora asked, a puzzled look on her face. Catra sighed. 

“More like the major didn’t like me. Turns out, college was a lot harder than high school, so my advisors suggested I switch to business. I wasn’t, like, failing by any means, but my advisor said my grades weren’t where they needed to be, you know?” Catra brought her knees to her chest and folded her arms around them. Her tail wrapped protectively around her ankles. “But Horde takes a lot of interns from our school, so one of my professors helped me get a summer internship Sophomore year before switching majors. Turns out they needed people to translate the geek speak into plain English for the higher ups and I’m pretty good at that. I stayed in touch with my supervisor and when I graduated, I just went back. ” 

“But do you like it there?”

“Yeah, I guess in a way. One of my proposals got greenlit for production and I got tapped for a cool new project this morning--one that’s not weapon related,” she said, shooting a defensive look at Adora. But if Adora was passing any judgement, she kept it hidden. Maybe Catra could try that vulnerability thing she was talking about. She took a breath. “After years of getting pushed around by my boss, one of our vice presidents thinks I actually have potential and it--it feels good, you know? I can keep up, I have good ideas. It’s just nice to be seen. It’s nice to be wanted.”

“I get that,” Adora said, leaning back against the bench beside her. “But Catra, for what it’s worth, you don’t seem like someone who can’t keep up. You really seem like you have it together, especially if your VP wants you to do this new project. You should be proud!” 

Catra smiled at her. “I guess I am proud. What about you though, do you like what you do?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, I felt kind of unmoored after college,” Adora said, turning her face skyward. “I knew I felt like I was supposed to help people in some way, but I didn’t know how to do that or what to do. I thought about becoming a firefighter, but Glimmer convinced me to work at Brightmoon until I found something better and I just kind of stayed. I swear it’s not all goofing off either. Glimmer met with a bunch of investors this morning to try to get our app funded and Bow does almost all of the development himself. I handle the user experience side of things, so I test out all the code Bow writes to make sure it works the way we want it to. 

“Sometimes I feel like Glimmer made the position up to keep me around, but then again, sometimes Bow’s code really, really doesn’t work,” Adora chuckled. “Do you want to see the app?” Catra nodded and Adora pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket. 

“Okay so it’s like Yelp for the environment. You register with your phone number--what’s your number?” Catra paused.  _ Was Adora trying to be slick about asking for her number? Well, might as well play along.  _

“861-531-6127,” Catra replied. Adora tapped in the numbers into the registration and hit confirm. “So now, you can do all kinds of things. You can scan product barcodes and find out if they have any weird chemicals in them, or you can look up a business to see if they have environmentally friendly practices. And if they don’t, you can leave reviews so other users know too. Do you want to try looking one up?”

Catra missed the question, distracted by Adora’s lips. A few beats passed before she realized Adora was waiting for an answer.

“Um, I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Catra turned crimson and Adora laughed. The blonde brushed another strand of wind-swept hair out of her face, unaware she still had ketchup on the back of her hand. In the process, Adora smeared the red condiment on her cheek. 

“Hang on, you have a little something on your face,” Catra said, instinctively licking her thumb and reaching forward to wipe the ketchup off Adora’s face.

“Did you just wipe my face?” Adora smirked. Catra willed the pavement below them to just crack open and swallow her hole.

“What? No, I mean, yes, I did, but it--it wasn’t like that,” she protested weakly.  _ God, Catra, why did you do that?  _ She felt Adora’s intense gaze leave her face and she glanced back at the blonde, who was now staring at the phone in her hand. She seemed to be silently mouthing something to herself. Catra leaned toward her. “Adora, are you okay?” 

Adora lifted her head up and Catra was struck again by the feeling that she could never hide from those piercing blue eyes. 

“Catra, do you want to go out some time?” The words rapidly tumbled out of Adora’s mouth. Catra wondered for a moment if that’s what Adora had been muttering under her breath. She smiled.

“Just tell me when and where.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adora's ketchup moment may or not be inspired by the endearingly messy eater in my life.


	4. If You Give a Jock Your Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora plans a date but realizes she missed some critical pieces of information. Bow helps her fill in the gaps. Plus, Catra’s office gets an upgrade.

Adora burst into the Brightmoon office, winded after running up the sixteen flights of stairs leading to the eighth floor. The room was surprisingly empty and quiet, save for the sound of keys clicking on a keyboard and Adora’s own panting. Bow’s head popped up from behind one of the overstuffed couches. 

“Bow, where is everyone?” Adora asked, looking around. Bow placed his laptop on the couch and rose, stretching his arms above his head.

“Everyone else decided to take a half day. Glimmer was waiting for you because you said you’d only be a few minutes, but after half an hour, she bounced.”

Adora flashed a sly grin. Bow smirked back.

“Oh I see, you were hanging out with Catra weren’t you?”

Adora nodded, walking toward the couch. She kicked her sneakers off and flopped on the seat cushions, narrowly missing Bow’s computer. He snatched it quickly out of harm’s way, setting it on the coffee table a few feet away.

“Bow, she’s just so… different. She’s driven, she’s funny, she’s smart. And she’s certainly easy on the eyes,” Adora gushed.

“All that and a bag of chips, huh? So she’s like every other girl you chased in college,” Bow laughed. Adora rolled her eyes.

“This one I think is worth keeping around. And before you ask, I know for a fact she’s into me too.” 

Bow sank onto the couch beside his best friend. 

“And how can you know that? This is the second time you’ve talked to her.”

Adora stuck her tongue out at him, before holding up three fingers.

“Because one, I caught her staring at me. Twice. Two,” she said, ticking down a digit. “She bought me lunch. And three, I asked her out and she said yes.” 

Bow’s eyes widened. “You asked her out the second time you met her?” 

“Yes, yes I did,” Adora said smugly, holding up her fist. Bow bumped his knuckles against hers. 

“So where are you guys going?” 

_Good question._ “I--I didn’t get that far in my planning yet,” Adora admitted. “This is why I keep you around, you know all the good spots in the city. I’ll just recycle one of you and Glim’s date spots.”

Bow folded his arms and frowned. “Adora, you can’t just use someone else’s date spot. It’s your first date; it has to be original and well-thought out!”

“What’re you, the romance police?” She grumbled, turning to sit up and lean her back against the arm of the couch.

“In this friend group, apparently I am! You and Glimmer both don’t see the importance of a well-planned date, but that’s what sets the foundation for your relationship. Glimmer and I’s first date was at an amusement park and I won her a big stuffed heart through an archery game. And guess who still has a stuffed heart on her bed?”

“ _Ugh,_ Glimmer does.”

“Exactly,” Bow replied with a satisfied smile. He uncrossed his arms and rested his right on the back of the couch, turning his torso toward Adora. “It sets the foundation. And before you ask--no, you cannot steal that idea.”

Adora threw her head back in mock frustration, but she knew her friend was right. _Think Adora, what does Catra like? What would set the right tone?_

“Bow, I think I’m screwed.”

* * *

Catra made her way back to the sixth floor, preferring to take the elevator rather than the stairs with Adora. The wind had mussed up her ponytail a bit, so she took down her long mane and finger-combed it on the ride up. Somewhat satisfied with the result, she clicked down the corridor to her cubicle. As she rounded the corner, she saw Scorpia beckoning her over from another doorway.

“Hey Scorp, what’s up?”

“Oh y’know, just checking out our _new office!”_ Scorpia couldn’t hide her excitement and practically dragged Catra into the room. Catra’s heart dropped. 

The office was smaller than she’d expected and there was hardly any room the way the facilities employees had set it up. The desks faced away from each other and toward the walls, giving little room for Catra and Scorpia to move their chairs. 

“They didn’t even put a desk for Entrapta!” Catra cried in exasperation, throwing her hands up. “What the hell do they expect us to do with this?”

Scorpia looked at the layout pensively, before picking up first one office chair and then the other in her claws. Effortlessly, she carried them out and deposited them alongside the doorway. She returned and started pulling one desk toward the middle of the room.

“What on Etheria are you doing?” Catra asked. Her friend smiled. 

“I’m redecorating!”

* * *

“Adora, what do you mean you don’t know what she likes?”

She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know, we didn’t really talk about it!” 

Bow looked at her incredulously. “What did you even talk about then?”

“We talked about work and where we went to school and I got ketchup on my face and she wiped it off and then I asked her out!” 

“Adora, do you even know this girl’s last name?” She shook her head. Bow sighed. “Well you sure as hell can’t take her on a work-related date--wait that’s it!” 

Adora lifted her head. “Bow, I am not taking her on a work-related date. What would we even do, murder innocent civilians?”

“No, dummy,” said Bow, lightly punching Adora’s shoulder. “We’re going to find her through work and then we’re going to stalk her to find out what she’s into.” Bow reached over to pick up his laptop and pulled up his web browser, typing rapidly. 

“Okay let’s see…’Catra...Horde Industries’...Oh LinkedIn, perfect.” He clicked the site and scrolled through the profiles, mousing over one that seemed likely. “Is that her?”

Adora leaned closer to the screen. The photo must have been a few years old, but the mismatched eyes gave it away. “Yep, that’s definitely her.”

“Her last name is...MeowMeow? Seriously?” Bow and Adora both cracked up. 

“Alright, alright,” Bow said, getting a hold of himself. “Let’s find this Catra MeowMeow.” They both began searching, Bow on his laptop and Adora on her cell phone. _Hm, Facebook is pretty locked down, nothing on Twitter, Instagram also on private._

“Damn it.” Adora sighed. “I can’t see anything!”

“She certainly knows how to cover her tracks,” Bow mused. “But we might have a lead. Has she mentioned anyone named Scorpia?” 

Adora cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, that name sounds familiar. I think it’s her coworker.” 

Bow grinned and turned his laptop so Adora could see the screen. “Well Scorpia is a very open book.” He scrolled through the dozens of Facebook posts, many of them tagging Catra. Pictures of Scorpia and Catra at bars, hiking, even one with Catra looking very seasick on a speed boat. Captions like “Me and @Catra MeowMeow just HAD to try the scorpion bowl” or “Wildcat’s first boat ride <3 <3 <3”.

“She is pretty cute, I’ll give you that,” Bow said over one post showing Catra sitting on Scorpia’s shoulders at an apple orchard. Adora gave him a pointed look. 

“Don’t make me call your girlfriend, Bow.” 

“Hey, she’d probably be more upset with you than me. I don’t think she’d be thrilled to hear you’re going on a date with Horde girl,” Bow shot back. He had a point. Glimmer was definitely not on Team Catra. 

“She’ll come around,” Adora protested. _If Glimmer could just see the side of Catra I’ve seen, she would change her mind._

Bow snorted. “Yeah, Glimmer, coming around. I won’t hold my breath. Anyhow, when’s the date?”

“I don’t know, I have to text her--oh fuck, Bow.” 

“Adora are you _kidding_ me?!”

* * *

Scorpia really had an eye for spatial layouts, Catra would give her that. Moving the desks together in the center of the room made the space feel much larger. It gave them a few feet of space on the perimeter of the room on all sides and, in Catra’s mind, a more collaborative workstation. The combined desk space actually allowed her to spread documents and designs out, plus the facilities team had installed white boards along one full wall. 

“What do you think, Wildcat?” Scorpia asked once she’d finally found the perfect placement for the desk chairs. Catra stepped back, taking in the fully furnished room. 

“It looks perfect,” she purred. 

“Oh wait, I had some extra time in my lunch break so I got something for you!” Scorpia turned and rummaged around in her purse, searching for the gift. She handed a small, brown paper envelope to Catra. A single piece of scotch tape sealed it. Catra swiped a claw across it, slicing through the thin plastic. She reached into the envelope and felt around for the items, cool and metallic against her skin.

“Scorpia, what are these?” She poured the small items into her hand. Three magnets fell out, depicting a cat, a scorpion, and a cupcake. “Where did you find these?”

“I went down to the bookstore around the corner! They had a bunch, but they didn’t have a robot so I thought the cupcake would be okay for Entrapta.”

Catra blinked back the small tears forming in her eyes. She placed them against the whiteboard, relishing the metallic _clank_ as the magnets connected. All of this was hers. No more cubicles or toiling under Shadow Weaver or getting ripped apart on a daily basis. 

“It’s perfect Scorp. It’s all perfect.”

* * *

It had taken a bit of extra time for IT to set up and reconnect their computers in the new office, but thankfully Hordak had seen fit to have laptops provided for Catra and Scorpia. Catra was finishing up setting up her user profile when her computer beeped. The email icon bounced along the bottom of her screen. Catra clicked on it and laughed aloud as she read it.

**_From:_ ** _Gray, Adora < _ _adora@BrightMoon.org_ _ > _

**_Sent:_ ** _Tuesday, October 11 3:10 PM_

**_Subject:_ ** _Dinner?_

_Hey Catra!_

_Sorry to email you but I realized when I got back into the office, I never actually got your number. I mean, I did, but I didn’t save it._

_Anyhow, are you free for dinner tomorrow night? If so, meet me at 452 Drake Street at 6:30._

_-Adora_

Catra quickly opened a new tab and searched the address. _That can’t be right,_ Catra thought. _This is a rock climbing gym._ Another beep drew her attention back to her inbox. 

**_From:_ ** _Gray, Adora < _ _adora@BrightMoon.org_ _ > _

**_Sent:_ ** _Tuesday, October 11 3:12 PM_

**_Subject:_ ** _Re: Dinner?_

_Wear comfortable clothes and bring sneakers!_

Catra tapped out a message on her keyboard.

**_From:_ ** _MeowMeow, Catra < _ _cmeowmeo@HordeIndustries.com_ _ > _

**_Sent:_ ** _Tuesday, October 11 3:15 PM_

**_Subject:_ ** _Re: Dinner?_

_Game on, Blondie._

  
  
  



End file.
